The Newfoundland Incident
by Lou-deadfroggy
Summary: Scott, Virgil and Gordon are called to a rescue on an oil rig in the North Atlantic. Everything's going smoothly until the rescuees stop co-operating.
1. Calling International Rescue

**The Newfoundland Incident**

**Author's note: So I thought it was time for a good old rescue, no angst, mush but maybe some whump. Enjoy!**

**Calling International Rescue**

John leaned back in his chair and bit down on the chocolate bar he had smuggled onto Five. If anyone had asked, he would have denied ever eating chocolate anywhere near Five's consoles and no-one else would ever be able bring it on-board. It wasn't like he should be doing anything else at the moment; the world was thankfully quiet for the time being.

"Calling International Rescue, calling International Rescue!" John sighed as a panicked voice called out from the radio. Why can't the world stay saved? He asked himself.

"This is International Rescue, what is the nature of the emergency?" He responded with practised calm. The monitor said the call was coming from just off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

"We're on the St. Anthony oil rig just off Newfoundland. There's a fire and we're trapped in the maintenance shaft!" the voice cried. It was a male voice, his accent definitely Newfoundland.

"Alright, have the local emergency services been alerted?" John asked, bringing up a screen on which a map of the area and local news reports were displayed.

"Yes, the others have gotten to safety already but they don't know we're down here, we can't contact them." John heard shouts in the background.

"All right, how many of you are there?" He opened a channel with the rescue services.

"Four, we're in the service tunnel, directly underneath the platform. Please come quickly, the part we're in could collapse anytime now!" the man on the other end of the line was almost hyperventilating.

"Alright, keep calm and we'll get you out, ok?"

"Ok, ok thanks man," the line hung up and John patched through to Tracy Island.

"Hi John, what's up?" Jeff smiled as his son's face filled the screen.

"Newfoundland, there's four people stuck on an oil rig and it's on fire set to collapse. The local emergency services can't get them out."

"F.A.B. John, we're on our way." Jeff called the boys watches and less than a minute later Scott, Virgil and Gordon ran in his office.

"Newfoundland, oil rig fire. Scott, get going, John will fill you in. Virgil, Gordon take four as well." They nodded and stepped behind their portraits, disappearing from view. Jeff sighed; he had been looking forward to a quiet weekend.

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**There you go, a short start but it will get longer on one condition: review!**


	2. ETA FortyFive Minutes

**The Newfoundland Incident**

******Author's Note: Thanks to those who reviewed and favourited, it's nice to know that people still like boring old rescues.****  
><strong>**  
><strong>**Chapter Two: Eta Forty-Five Minutes**

  
>Scott eased back the controls and let himself savour the incredible machine he was in for a split second before typing in the coordinates.<br>"Thunderbird One to Base," he said as the channel opened.  
>"Go ahead Scott," Jeff replied.<br>"ETA forty-five minutes, Virgil?" Scott asked his brother on the four-way link. The procedure was so engrained into him that the field commander barely needed to think about laying in a course and alerting the others.  
>"One hour to emergency zone." Virgil replied. Two's speed was always a problem; one hour was a long time to wait for help. Scott made a mental note to ask Brains if he could up Virgil's speed before turning over to Five's link.<br>"What's the situation John?" he asked the astronaut.  
>"Not good Scott, there are four workers trapped in a service corridor under the north side of the platform. A fire broke out about two hours ago and everyone else got to safety but the local services can't reach them. We have to hurry, the fire damaged the platform and they could fall into the sea at any time. Also there's a storm on the way and the sea's pretty rough." John sent him a satellite image of the platform and the weather report.<br>"Thanks Johnny, keep them hanging in there until I arrive."  
>"Course, Five out." John hung up leaving Scott to enjoy the peace of flying before the chaos of the rescue zone.<p>

"It's raining there," Gordon said as he looked over the reports John had given them.  
>"Good, might help the fire," Virgil answered. As much as he loved his immediate younger brother Gordon's need to constantly talk was not his most endearing quality in the eyes of the artist. Virgil much preferred it when the aquanaut stayed at home, the silence let him think about the rescue much better than having to repeat the facts.<br>"They're on the north side on the rig, three men and a woman," Gordon continued. Virgil didn't bother saying that he had heard John's report as well, it saved him having to answer.  
>"Virg? You ok?" Gordon asked after he didn't reply to the long monologue the red head had just finished.<br>"Hum? Oh yeah I'm fine. Hey Gords, I just gotta concentrate for a bit now ok?" Gordon nodded and finally shut up.

Alan glanced up at the TV as the news came on. The other boys in the common room were chatting and doing homework with the TV quietly on in the background.  
>"Our main story tonight: a fire on the St. Peter oil rig has left four people trapped. The emergency services aren't able to reach them despite ongoing efforts. Over to Mary Highgrove who's on the scene for us now, Mary." The balding newsreader switched to a smartly dressed blond woman standing on a boat with an oil rig in the distance. Alan glared at the woman, he had a wry personal reason for not liking Mart Highgrove.<br>"Thank you Harry, yes whilst the majority of the crew of the St. Peter oil rig have been safely evacuated after a fire which started some three hours age four workers are still trapped in a service corridor underneath the platform. Now the emergency services aren't able to reach them but a call went out to International Rescue who are believed to e on their way. Yes here they come now; Thunderbirds One has arrived so we must now switch to the studio for audio only updates. Back to you Harry." The screen changed to the studio as Thunderbirds One could be heard in the distance. The news channels had all been reminded that they could not film the Thunderbirds in action, something Governments all over the world helped uphold as they relied too much on them.  
>"Everyone, don't bother talking to Alan now, he's transfixed by the Thunderbirds again!" Tim laughed. Alan mock punched his friend and laughed. He had to be careful with his interest in the Thunderbirds, it had almost blown his cover before now. <p>


	3. The Rescue Zone

**The Newfoundland Incident**

**Chapter Three: The Rescue Zone**

Scott brought Thunderbird One to hover just above the platform. His sensors picked up the TV cameras on some of the boats surrounding the rig. Those that hadn't been switched off were already being wiped clean.

"Thunderbird One to Thunderbird Two, how far away are you Virgil?" Scott asked his brother.

"Ten minutes, will we need Four straight away?" Virgil answered. The field commander thought for a moment before replying.

"There's no way to land and we can't get to them from the air. I think the only option is to wait for them to fall into the water."

After a long pause Gordon voiced what they all were thinking.

"There's no way we can just let them fall, they would die on impact." His voice was quiet, they didn't have many options.

"What if we don't land, I could lower Gordon down to the side of the platform with some cutting tools and the basket winch." Virgil suggested as the oil rig came into sight.

"We'll give it a try then." Scott signed off to let Virgil get Two into position.

"All ready Gordon?" Virgil asked his brother from the cockpit.

"Ready," the reply came from the winch room. He began to lower the redhead down, out of Thunderbird Two, towards the side of the rig.

Gordon hated winches; he hated being blown around with only a thin cable between him and falling. Not even the fact that he was falling onto water helped since, at this height, he would die from the impact as if he were falling onto concrete.

A large gust of wind blew him forwards, missing the side of the rig by inches. He really hated winches.

The corridor where the workers were trapped was more of a segmented tube running along the underside of the platform edge. Several portions had already fallen away and the rest looked ready to give.

"Alright Gordon, they're in the second segment from the end closest to you," Virgil answered his unspoken question.

"FAB," Gordon replied and began to work his way along the side, holding on for dear life against the wind. The railing and pipes he was clinging to were wet and slippery even with his gloves on.

He managed a few cautious steps before a huge gust caused his foot to slip. Gordon reached out to grab a pipe to stop himself falling but missed, swinging out from the platform before the wind crashed him into the metal structure.

"Gordon!" Virgil's voice cried out from the comm. in his helmet.

"I'm ok, I just slipped. I'm fine now," he reassured his brother.

Firmly placing his boots on a sturdy pipe and gripping another with his hands Gordon edged along the side towards the section where the workers were trapped.

"Hello? This is International Rescue, please respond," Gordon called through the link John had opened between his helmet and the radio the victims had.

"Hello, we can hear you," a male voice replied.

"Good, I'm outside the tube now. Can you all move as far to the back as possible, I'm about to start cutting through." Gordon opened his pack and took out the cutting torch.

"No, the whole corridor's about to collapse, i you do that we'll fall into the sea!" a woman's voice shrieked over the radio. Gordon sighed; there would always be the panicky one on every rescue.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," he tried to reassure her.

"No! You'll kill us!" she screamed. Gordon frowned at the sounds of a scuffle.

"See, you being there hasn't helped at all, get lost!" the woman yelled. This was the first time the aquanaut had met someone who didn't want to be rescued.

"I'm doing my job which is to get you out alive so please back away from the outer wall and stay calm." He began to cut through the metal.

Suddenly he felt several heavy impacts from the inside of the corridor. The whole thing shook and Gordon almost slipped. From what he could tell the people inside were throwing themselves at the wall.

"Hey! Stop that! I said to stand back!" he yelled at them.

"Get lost Thunderbird! We don't want you to help us!" Three impacts nearly broke the pipes Gordon was standing on.

"Virg! Help they're banging the wall and it's about to come off!" He changed the channel to Thunderbird Two.

"What? Why would they do that?" Virgil asked, shocked.

"The woman said they don't want to be rescued but I only felt three impacts. I think they knocked out the guy who called for help." Gordon once again found himself gripping on as tightly as he could against the wind and the banging from within the tube.

"Hang on Gordon, just keep cutting. Let's get them out first and they can moan about it later." Virgil was clearly confused by their behaviour.

Gordon did as he was told and continued cutting. The violent rocking of the corridor made it hard but slowly the laser cut through the wall.

"Virgil." Scott's voice rang out from the radio.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Well I contacted the local emergency services and every worker bar one is accounted for."

"But, there's for people down there..." Virgil gasped as he realised what Scott meant.

"Yes, there are three trespassers who are very probably responsible for the fire."

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**Author's note: Not overly long put hopefully it's ok. Thanks to Teobi and JoTracy123 for your support and stuff. Please review everyone!**


	4. Just Doing Our Job

**The Newfoundland Incident**

**Chapter Four: Just Doing Our Job**

"What?" Gordon yelled at the news.

"Yeah, there are three people in there who aren't recorded as being on the rig at all. They obviously don't want to be found," Virgil said. The aquanaut tightened his grip as the banging continued.

"It doesn't matter whether they're meant to be here or not, we've got a job to do," Scott butted in on what they had thought was a closed line.

"Scott there's not much I can do with them hurling against the side like this. It's hard enough to stay on; I'm not going to be able to..." At that moment the whole rig shook as the structural damage took its toll.

"Gordon!" Scott and Virgil cried at once.

"I'm okay but this thing isn't going to last much longer. We have to get them out now," he said as the north side of the platform began to dip dangerously towards the surface of the water.

"Try and talk to them Scott, and hurry!" Gordon asked his brother. A huge wave crashed into the rig, the swell crushing him to the side.

"Hang on in there bro," Scott told him before changing channel to speak with the uncooperative people they were trying to help.

"Shut up Jack! I'm trying to listen!" Olivia stood next to the crack the Thunderbird's laser had made in the wall.

"They'll get us out Olivia, they always do," Dan cried. The blond woman glared at him, her usually perfect appearance dishevelled from sea spray and smoke. Dan was crouched over the unconscious form of the rig worker they had forced into helping them.

"Not this time Dan. Don't worry, we won't get out." Olivia hurled herself against the wall again to try and dislodge the rescue worker. Jack followed suit.

"You had better be right about this Olivia. If we get out were done for," Jack sighed and once again wished he had never volunteered for the mission.

"Hello? This is International Rescue. We are trying to get you out alive, why are you not cooperating?" a voice forma the radio asked. No-one answered, even Olivia couldn't think of what to say. If they pleaded to be left it would make them look like they wanted to die but they could hardly reveal the plan could they?

"Please stop making this difficult. We're just doing our job. We believe one of you is unconscious and you're too high up to survive falling into the water. Just let is get you out before the entire rig collapses." the IR guy said. Jack and Dan looked to Olivia for instructions. The plan had been to get aboard the rig, start the fire then wait in the safe zone until they got picked up. The rig worker had complicated matters when he called International Rescue. If the three were saved by them the the authorities would want to know what they were doing on the rig in the first place.

"Olivia, it's about to fall apart. If we don't let them get us out we'll die," Jack said quietly. She nodded.

"Fine Thunderbird, get us out of here," she snapped at the radio. The sigh of relief was audible through the device.

A moment later the laser began cutting through the wall again. Within minutes there was a line going up and over to form half a doorway.

Then the corridor creaked, the shriek of metal being warped and twisted from strain. The whole segment began to tilt downwards, Dan only just stopping the worker's unconscious form from sliding too.

"Hurry up Gordon! You have to get clear soon!" Virgil called to his brother. Gordon gritted his teeth at the strain the wire around his waist was putting on very sensitive areas. He really hated winch harnesses. The laser couldn't cut quick enough; he still had a way to go before the panel would come loose.

The rig groaned again as it slipped slightly further into the sea. Crude oil began to swell around its base from the broken pipes.

Gordon finished the rectangle he had been cutting out and pulled it loose revealing a blond woman and two brown haired men crouching over an unconscious body.

"Ok, give me the injured guy," Gordon told them. He attached the man to one of the cables he had and gave the word to Virgil who began to winch him up. He sent the woman and two guys up on the separate harnesses he had brought. Whilst Gordon hated winches his training made attaching the links and buckles instinctive.

The rig gave one last almighty groan before sinking further into the sea. Gordon was very glad to be swinging freely a good dozen feet above it at that point. Maybe he could come to like winches. A gust of wind that spun him around like a failed yoyo made him dismiss the thought though. Two's trap door soon appeared around him and he quickly removed the offending harness.

Virgil already had the four people he had just rescued in sick bay so there was nothing left but to drop them off at the nearest hospital and then go home, another rescue successfully done.

Gordon frowned as he took his seat in Two's cockpit. Why had those three been so keen to be left behind? Still it didn't really matter, the Thunderbirds had saved the day and that was all that counted. He made a mental note to ask Scott if he had any idea before helping Virgil circle the rig on their way to Newfoundland.

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**Huge thanks to those who reviewed! Please press the little button down there before you go.**


	5. Back at Base

**The Newfoundland Incident**

**Chapter Five: Back at Base**

Gordon lay back in the water and floated there for a while. It was nice to just relax after a rescue and there was nothing he liked better than being in the pool.

They had dropped the worker and the three trespassers off at the nearest hospital the Thunderbirds had returned to base. Gordon had gone straight to the pool as usual.

"Hey, Gords!" Scott called as he sauntered down to the poolside. Gordon swam lazily over to the side and half pulled himself out.

"Yes Scott?" he asked. The elder brother waved what looked like a report in front of him.

"I have the reason those people were so uncooperative," he said. Gordon looked up sharply before hoisting himself out of the pool.

"And? Why were they trying to knock me off that rig?" He grabbed a towel off the lounged and began to dry himself.

"They had been sent to sabotage the rig," Scott said. "The plan was to start a fire then hide in the safest place onboard until they got picked up. It failed when they ran into a rig worker who called us."

"Whoa, they're lucky he did, the fire obviously damaged the thing more than they thought." Gordon took the police report from his brother.

"The pick-up boat didn't come because we were there, it just left them." Scott went quiet for a moment.

"Who were they working for?" Gordon asked.

"Some rival company who wanted an ecological disaster to put up their prices I guess," he answered. Both brothers stood in thought for a while. Accidents and natural disasters were common but sabotage, especially after Fireflash was not a word the Tracys liked to use.

"Well, they're all going to prison and the company is under a full police inquiry. That's something anyway." Scott sighed. Gordon nodded and they both made their way up to the house.

"Hey, Gordon! Alan wants to talk to you!" Virgil's voice rang out from Jeff's study.

"You could have gone and told him Virg," their father commented in a somewhat resigned voice. Gordon hurried into the office, his face splitting into a grin at the sight of his baby brother's face on the screen.

"Hiya Alan! S'up?" he asked the blond.

"How was the um, business trip?" the youngest Tracy looked around quickly to check that he was alone.

"Never, I mean never, spend that much time on a winch. I hurt all over now." Alan laughed.

"You signed up bro!" he reminded the redhead.

"Yeah but no-one said it would involve that many winches! I never want to see another harness!" his brother grinned slyly.

"So you won't be coming when we all go bungee jumping then?" Alan asked innocently.

"That's different!" Gordon objected, turning quickly to make sure Jeff wasn't thinking of leaving him out.

"I'll leave you two to it then," he said and left the redhead on his own with the teenager who was in fits of laughter. Jeff smiled, he might complain but Gordon didn't really mean it. He frowned at the memory of being winched down in high winds, maybe the aquanaut was right: winches were evil things.

John pressed send on the report he had just finished. The "Newfoundland Oil Rig Incident" was one of the stranger ones they had been called to. Not quite as odd as giant alligators but it definitely was high up. The astronaut shrugged before smiling at the chocolate bar sitting innocently on the side.

"Just you and me now," he said and reached for it. Leaning back in his chair he took a slow bite, savouring it carefully.

The radio transmitter began to beep. John sighed and regretfully put the chocolate bar down.

"Soon, soon," he promised himself as he took the call.

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**All done. Yes it was short but so were the shows. Thanks for reading!**


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